The living I've seen

After surfing along the internet highway and viewing second hand and on a screen so many things in our glorious world, I thought of some of the things my eyes have actually seen and I have actually touched. I'm not a world traveler, so I haven't seen the Egyptian pyramids or the Swiss Alps. I haven't seen magnificent buildings in exotic cities. But I have had some grand experiences.

I swam in the Atlantic Ocean many times. I walked the sand dunes of East Coast America and the mountain paths in the oldest mountains on Earth - the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. I've seen the grand Mississippi River and the rolling Missouri River. I've seen the Cape Fear River near its headwaters and where it also emptied into the Atlantic Ocean. I swam in the Gulf of Mexico and walked pristine Florida beaches. I've seen tumultuous winds of hurricanes in the coastal city of Wilmington and the wind's destruction of massive centuries old Oak Trees. I've crossed the great and grand Red/Orange Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco, California and traveled the winding coastal Pacific highway and looked out over the immense Pacific. I've seen aquariums of the Atlantic Ocean and of the Pacific Ocean and the creatures that live in the depths of both. I've seen wild deer on a utopian golf course on the edge and top of cliffs along the Pacific.

 
I've seen the face of a newborn child and looked into their innocent eyes and soothed their bewildering cry. I've seen and held a squirmy new born puppy whose eyes were not yet open to win the heart of "his human." I've seen the face of a loved one moments before they left their tired body. I've held their hand as it turned cold. I've felt the joy of new life within my own body, and felt the terror when my spouse, who I love deeply, is no longer at my side.

I've seen the glory of a tiny blossom as it opens and brings joy to those who take a moment to see it. I've experienced the privilege of seeing blue skies, white clouds, yellow sunlight, cleansing rain, and pure white snow. I've experienced the joy of a pantry full of food to prepare and the delight of a well made home prepared meal shared with loved ones. I've had the privilege to eat in restaurants both humble and glorious, both inexpensive and quite costly. I have the joy of living a life of comfort, warmth, abundance. A life of love. A life of care and caring. A life of seeing and telling. 

I have lived. And God has provided the living of that life day by day in His gracious caring way.